The Lions and The Snakes
by lisa.doomen
Summary: Sirius is given an ultimatum, become friends with the Slytherin's in his year or his brother will be punished. His decision makes him realise who his real friends are.
1. Chapter 1

The Lions and The Snakes

Chapter One:

Sirius was sitting next to James on the stands of the Quidditch Pitch clutching a sheet of parchment in his hands.

"There's no choice James," he whispered sadly.

James scanned through the letter again, willing a solution to appear. Sirius's parents had got tired of his behavior and decided the normal punishments were not working and so had written to Sirius offering an ultimatum: Become friends with the Slytherins in his year or when they returned home for Christmas, Regulus would be punished for his disobedience.

"How are we going to do this then?" James asked.

Sirius's head shot up, "we?" he exclaimed.

"You think I was letting you do this alone? Padfoot, we're a team! Lets get the others" James said grinning.

Sirius sat down in shock, barely noticing how hard he was shaking. He looked up towards James, who did not look much better.

"How could they, how could they say he would deserve it? He's my brother James, and he's innocent of everything!" Every word spoken sent more tremors through body until finally they were replaced by sobs.

"Do they know though? Exactly what your _punishments_ are?" James whispered.

"Moony does, I told him last year, Peter doesn't though. Are the Marauder's really going to end because of this?" Sirius looked at James desperately.

"Well if they are true friends they will come around. Regardless, we need to solve the bigger problem first. How are we going to befriend the Slytherin's?"

"JAMES!" Sirius bellowed. "What in the hell is this? When you said you were getting Snape, I didn't think you meant kidnap him." Sirius tore past James who was looking sheepishly at the ceiling and knelt in front of Snape who was gagged and tied to a chair. "I had no clue he was going to do this, I swear, but I really need to talk to you, would you be willing to stay if I untied you?"

Snape regarded him hesitantly and then gave a short nod. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and then proceeded to take the gag off and untie the knots holding Snape to the chair. Sirius then looked at Snape and with a sigh handed him the same sheet of parchment that began this whole mess.  
Snape read it through, and then seemed to reread it. He then looked up, "punishment?" Snape watched as Sirius grew deathly pale and so did James behind him. Sirius, who was still kneeling in front of Snape, fell back onto his bottom and wrapped his hands around his legs, rocking himself.

" My father thought that corporal punishment would work at first to beat the Gryffindor out of me. Huh! When that didn't work he decided to… to…" Sirius trailed off then and looked over to James desperately, pleading with his tear filled eyes to say it for him.

" His dad rapes him every time he goes home" James spat out, then spun around and punched the wall. Snape's eyes widened, and his head swung down and he saw Sirius at that moment, as a victim like he was instead of the bully he always thought him to be.

"He would do this to Regulus, just to make you obey?" Snape asked, still shocked.

Sirius nodded and looked up at Snape, tear after tear falling. "Please, help me" he begged.

Snape realized then he had already made his decision and gave the forlorn boy a small smile, "you have my friendship at least, I will talk to the others. There should be no reason they will not accept you though."

"Us," James said from the corner he was now occupying. "I'm not going to abandon him now."

Snape nodded and rose, offering a hand to Sirius.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Authors Note: This is set in 6th year. The fight between Lily and Severus never happened. The amount of bullying the Marauders did to Severus can be compared to the tension and fights between Harry and Draco and not the extreme lengths that were mentioned in the books.

James and Sirius walked into the Great Hall the next morning exhausted. They had spent half the night in a shouting match with the other Gryffindors after Remus had spread the word that they were going 'dark' and befriending the Slytherins.

"Black! Potter!"

Both of their heads swiveled towards the voice, though neither of them expected for it to belong to Malfoy who had two distinctly empty spots between himself and Snape.

James looked towards Sirius, who shrugged and they both changed direction to go sit with the Slytherins. James sat next to Malfoy and Sirius besides him and Snape.

"Morning Snape," Sirius said hesitantly to Snape, as he heard James greet Malfoy similarly.

"Good morning, and its Severus if we are going to become friends," Severus said with a slight grin. Sirius returned the grin and said "Sirius then."

They ate in silence and slowly the tension amongst the Slytherins dissolved, and James and Sirius were surprised to hear not one mention of Dark magic, Voldemort or the war. There was talk of classes, tests and homework, with several mentions of Christmas plans.

Severus raised an eyebrow in regards to the sheepish looks James and Sirius displayed. "Did you expect talk of the war, we are still in school you realize?"

They both blushed but did not answer, causing Lucius to snort.

Severus rose, "come we have potions in 10 minutes, and I for one am grateful for the first time in my life it is with Gryffindors."

James and Sirius rose and followed obediently, but once outside of the Hall they asked why.

"Do you think we didn't notice the glares you were receiving throughout breakfast? We have been through protecting Gryffindors before though, so we are the best at it," Lucius said. This got confused looks from the Gryffindors as they tried to figure out whom Lucius had been talking about. They immediately remembered as Lily bounded up and gave Severus a hug.

"Morning Sev, morning Lucius" Lily said with a cheerful smile, she then turned to James and Sirius and frowned "what are you doing here?"

Severus lent down to whisper something in her ear, as the boys watched Lily's expression turn shocked. Severus then led her by the hand into the classroom, leaving James, Sirius and Lucius to follow.

James and Sirius left an uneventful potions class to go to Charms with a look of pure dread on their faces. Charms was just Gryffindors and went for two periods. They sat at the far back of the classroom and proceeded to get their textbooks and wands out when Remus and Peter walked in followed by the rest of the Gryffindors. It was obvious who had taken over leadership after the fight last night. Lily ran in just before Professor Flitwick entered and sat at the desk adjacent to them.

"What took you so long Evans?" James whispered.

"Severus explained what happened," she whispered back, causing them both to pale. "Don't worry, I support you both in this and it will give me an excuse to sit with Severus during meals now too" she said with a smile on her face.

Sirius made a mental note to ask Severus exactly how much he had told Lily and Lucius about his situation, while noticing how frequently Remus and the others were turning their heads around to glare at them. He just hoped the lesson went quickly.

The Gryffindors quickly made their way to the Slytherin table for lunch, not even bothering to glance at the table that they had sat at the whole time they had been at Hogwarts. Lily sat next to Severus and James went to sit in the free seat next to Lucius on the other side of the table, leaving Sirius to sit in the free seat between Severus and Regulus.

"Hi," Sirius said weakly, eyeing his brother cautiously.

"Severus told me everything. I didn't realize what they were doing to you Sirius, and thank you for doing this to save me from the same punishment." Regulus's eyes were filled with tears that threatened to fall as Sirius hugged him. Neither of them noticed as Lucius took a letter from an owl and quickly glanced through its contents.

Sirius turned and looked at Lucius and then Lily, "how much do you know?" he asked.

"Everything," they said together.

Lucius handed over the letter and then added "and it seems the Dark Lord does not approve of your parents punishments either.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"What?" Sirius squeaked. James and Lily were also regarding Lucius as if he had gone crazy.

"Come with me, we need a more private setting for this discussion," Severus said getting up and without a backwards glance he strutted out of the room. Several turns and staircases later they were in the dungeon and finding seats in an unused classroom.

"If you breathe a word of this to anyone else, you will find yourself my test subjects for my potions for the rest of the year," Severus promised regarding James and Sirius in particular. They both nodded very fast and waited for Severus to continue.

"Lily and Lucius already know this but to summarise, my home life was far from pleasant. My muggle father took delight in attempting to 'beat' the magic out of me. He was a cruel drunk and spent all my mothers' earnings on his alcohol supply. I was six years old and hadn't eaten in days when Lily found me. She took me by the hand and shared her lunch she had bought with me. We became fast friends and when I realized she was a witch, our friendship blossomed further as there were no secrets I had to keep from her. As you have probably guessed, I have already pledged myself to the Dark Lord, when he saw me come to a meeting during the holidays, thinner and covered in bruises that hadn't completely healed yet, he demanded to know why. I told him of my father and what he did to my mother and I. Within the day, he had removed mother and I from the house and cursed my father to relive the pain we had suffered at his hands, every time he closes his eyes for the rest of his life" Severus spoke softly, his eyes had a haunted look while he recounted his abuse.

James and Sirius looked both on the edge of tears. Sirius stood and placed one hand of Severus's shoulder and squeezed gently, connected by the horrors they had both faced by their family.

"The Dark Lord removed you… where did you go?" James asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I stay with him, in his manor. Mother and I were given rooms for as long as we need them," Severus said.

"And Potter, this was months before Severus pledged himself to the Dark Lord" Lucius stated regarding them both with a passive face. "The Dark Lord hates violence against children. We are permitted to pledge ourselves, but we have passive roles, like potion making or healing, until he deems us ready. The youngest he has ever sent into battle was 25. Your Leader of Light has already recruited some of you for his war, has he not?"

James nodded dumbly, still trying to process the momentous amount of information that had been thrown at him in the past 10 minutes.

"We need to get to class," Lily said, bringing them all back to reality.

"One question first, though I don't know if you would have the answer," Sirius said looking at Severus who nodded, indicating it was all right to ask.

"What will happen to Regulus and I, if he does something to my parents? Go with our other 'loving' family members or be adopted like you were. Regulus already talks of joining the Dark Lord. I want him out of this war for as long as possible. I know you said he would not be in battles, but if the Light wins, which they have a reasonable chance at doing, he will be punished along with the rest of us. I don't think I could bear that," Sirius sobbed, his mind flashing through all the horrible fates that could await his brother if condemned as a criminal.

Lucius smirked. "The rest of _us_?" he asked, causing Sirius to blush.

"I'm not sure yet, but if you had asked me a fortnight ago I would have been against everything to do with the Dark Lord and his followers. After these few days, I guess I've become more neutral than anything. I need more information before I even think of choosing sides." James nodded his agreement at Sirius declaration, and they all began shuffling towards the door to head off to their classes, their minds swirling with the knowledge that had surfaced during that discussion.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

James and Sirius walked into their common room, still thinking about what had happened earlier, not even noticing Remus and Peter approach them.

"We need to talk," Remus stated, shocking them both out of their thoughts. James looked at Sirius, who shrugged his acquisition. The group made their way up to their dormitory, with Remus then proceeding to magically lock the door and put up privacy and silencing charms.

"What do we need to talk about?" Sirius asked. "You both made yourselves pretty clear what you thought about me protecting my little brother."

"Their Slytherin's, Sirius, they will convert you. Make you take His mark. You can't trust them. Regulus is one of them; people have overheard him talking to others about how he's going to serve Him when he leaves school. You should worry about yourself, not him," Remus pleaded, begging Sirius to see it his way.

Sirius and James looked at Remus in disbelief; Sirius then turned to Peter and asked him if he agreed with Remus.

" I'm sure your brother can take some _punishment_" Peter answered hesitantly.

Sirius took a deep breath, "do you know how they have been punishing me these past few years?" Peter shook his head.

"They beat me, badly, and a couple of years ago when they decided the beatings weren't enough, my father decided by raping me they could ensure my obedience. That hasn't worked either, so now they have decided to threaten Regulus with it if I don't do what they say," Sirius said while watching Peter grow paler with each word. Peter instantly turned on Remus.

"You said that it was just grounding and stuff. Rape, Remus, Rape!" Peter shouted at Remus and then turned to James and Sirius, "I'm sorry, I had no idea it was that bad. Forgive me?"

They both nodded, giving Peter small smiles. Remus gave them all a disgusted look, ended the spells and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

"How bad is it to be their friends?" Peter asked.

James and Sirius exchanged smirks and proceeded to tell Peter about their time with the Slytherins including how the Dark Lord was against the abuse Sirius suffered, but leaving out what Severus had told them, as they had promised not to tell anyone.

The trio spent the rest of the night laughing and catching up with what they had missed while sitting with the Slytherins, none of them noticing that Remus never returned that night.

Lily stormed into the dorms that morning slamming the door behind her, the crash causing all three Gryffindors to awake.

"What happened?" Sirius asked fighting off the remaining effects of sleep.

"Lupin attacked Severus and Lucius this morning, they are in the hospital wing," Lily shouted, her face bright red in anger.

James was the first one to understand the significance the attack could have, "he didn't bite them did he?" Sirius and Peter froze and looked at Lily in apprehension.

"No, what, of course not, he hexed them, it must have been pretty bad because Madam Pomfrey is not allowing any visitors," she answered still fuming.

Alice then rushed into the room; "Remus is eating breakfast in the Great Hall, Lily." Lily gave a predatory smile and regarded the boys still sitting in their beds.

"You have 5 minutes to get dressed and meet me downstairs. Their your friends too now," Lily stated, and gave a small smile when James and Sirius immediately got out of their beds and gathered up their clothing, but was shocked when Peter too got up and began to grab his clothes too.

Sirius noticed Lily's face and whispered as he walked past her "he knows about me and the Dark Lord, but nothing about Severus." Lily gave him a relieved nod and turned making her way downstairs.

Lily marched through the Great Hall with Sirius, James and Peter behind her, not noticing the entire Great Hall fall silent and watch them walk towards Remus. And so when she backhanded his, the hitting sound echoed through out the Great Hall only to be followed by Sirius punch that sent Remus flying and crashing into the wall, metres away.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Black, what is the meaning of this?" Professor Dumbledore asked, shock evident in his voice.

James, noticing that Sirius and Lily were to busy glaring at Remus, turned towards the Headmaster and said "Lupin here, decided to end our friendship when we became friends with Severus, Lucius and the other Slytherins. We accepted that, no matter how much it hurt us to end our friendship. He then decided to attack Severus and Lucius this morning, which are now in the Hospital Wing, and no one can see them because it's so serious. And here he is sitting here without a care in the world."

Remus chose at that moment to get up.

"Does everyone know, why you're their friends? Should I tell them all how your parents blackmailed you into befriending those slimy snakes?" Lily at this point tried to send a silencing spell at Remus but was stopped when the Headmaster summoned all their wands, in hope of preventing a magical conflict on top of the verbal and physical one that was already occurring.

"If Sirius doesn't obey his Daddy's orders, then instead of him being raped like usual this Christmas, his brother will be," Remus said quietly, though every single person in the Great Hall heard and all gasped in unison.

Sirius and Regulus proceeded to try and turn invisible at this point as they felt the waves of pity being focused at them.

"Well, it seems Lucius, the one day we are detained from breakfast, we miss confession time," Severus drawled. He and Lucius both looked worse for wear, with Severus's left arm in a sling and Lucius leaning on a cane. Lily noticed the look on Severus's face and realized what he was about to do.

"No Severus, your both right on time for my confession. You see my parents were happy when we realized I had magic, my younger sister however, when she didn't receive a letter on her 11th birthday, began to hate all things magical. I am a constant target at home to her attacks, regardless of how much my parents try to intervene," Lily stated, using all her Gryffindor courage to hold her head proudly. Sirius looked at he shocked though his head swerved when he heard Severus began to speak.

"As many of you know, my father is a muggle. He was an abusive drunk, and his favourite hobby was to see if he could beat the magic out of me. Our savings went entirely on his drinking habit, and if not for Lily, I would have died of starvation years before I came to Hogwarts. My mother and me finally escaped his abuse last year."

The Great Hall was completely silent as they took in the accounts of abuse, though all attention was drawn to a small second year Hufflepuff who confessed, that he too was beaten due his House being different from the rest of the family. Several others, stood up and told their stories, afterwards their friends and families going over to comfort them, students continued rising, and eventually the Great Hall showed groups containing representatives from all four houses offering comfort towards the abuse victims that had come forward. For the first time in recordable history, all four Houses stood united in support for their friends and family.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Sirius had done a lot of thinking since the Great Hall, a few days ago. It had cemented his and James friendship with the Slytherins, and Peter was slowly befriending them. The past week had Sirius questioning everything he knew, wondering which path would be the right one to choose, to stay with the Light or join his brother, family and new friends in the Dark.

"Sirius," Severus greeted as he sat down beside him, shocking Sirius out of his thoughts.

"Hi," Sirius returned weakly attempting a small smile.

"You can't keep questioning things, because eventually you will question your questions and its just a downward spiral from there, trust me," Severus said knowingly.

"How did you find the answer then?" Sirius asked.

"Actually, we are both similar in this instance. I, too, was questioning what side I should give my support to," Severus said.

"But you live with Him, how could you think of supporting anyone else?" Sirius asked shocked.

Severus smiled fondly as he remembered the conversation he had with the Dark Lord about which side to fight for. "He told mother and me, as soon as we were well again that we could remain with Him for as long as we wanted without declaring our loyalties. When I went back to Hogwarts I was surrounded by people openly declaring to others whether they supported the Light or Dark and then expecting me to do the same. I spent many hours thinking about it, and still was when I went home for the holidays. He noticed and sat me down and told me that He accepted me for who I was as a person, regardless if I was Light, Dark or Neutral and that I would always have a home with Him even if I chose a path other than the Dark. I realized then, that if I were to declare my loyalties it would be to Him and only Him, not the side of Light or Dark but the Dark Lord himself. He saved mother and me and has not and will not ask for anything in return. That is the man I follow, the man I will openly support." Severus told Sirius with conviction.

Sirius pondered this and then asked, "Would it be possible for me to write to Him? I have to know for certain that this is the right path before I pledge myself, I will lose so much regardless what side I choose."

"You won't lose anything if you choose the Light side. We don't end friendships based upon people using their own free will to make a choice, we will still be here regardless." Severus placed a hand upon Sirius's shoulder and gave a slight squeeze. "Write your letter and I will send it for you," Severus said.

Sirius got a reply from the Dark Lord two days after he had given Severus his letter to send. It was still in his pocket unopened, not having the courage to read it. After several minutes of debating whether or not to read it, he summoned all his Gryffindor courage and tore open the envelope and took the letter out and began to read it:

Dear Mr. Black

I will admit that I had been waiting from some form of correspondence from you as Severus has informed me about your blossoming friendship and the incident in the Great Hall. Do not misunderstand me, Severus is not spying but sends me letters daily informing me of his days, his new discoveries concerning potions and his thoughts. He has become like a son to me in many ways, and in so I hope when you make a decision it will include keeping your friendship with him. His father's abuse has caused numerous insecurities about trusting people, and to admit his abuse in front of the entire school to support you, he certainly trusts you.

In regards to your questions concerning my motives, I simply want safety from the muggles. To many of our kind suffer by their hands, and our current society does nothing but placate them. Removing wizarding traditions to replace them with muggle ones, create muggle studies but not a wizarding version for muggleborns, interactions with the muggle prime minister informing him of the wizarding world and our current affairs. To much is exposed and eventually muggle society will find out, and the witch-hunts will begin again. I fight to overthrow the government, yes, but that's because these laws need to be changed, we can accept muggleborns without revealing ourselves to the world. The government does not believe this to be so, and proclaims I wish for the death of muggles. While, I believe some muggles do indeed deserve death, such as my father and Severus's, I would be stupid to believe thousands of wizards could defeat millions of muggles armed with advanced technologies that we have very little knowledge of.

I do not expect you to choose sides, but I will tell you that Regulus and yourself will always have a place to stay with me, whenever you require it. As I told Severus, there is no requirement to pledge yourself to the Dark or no punishment if you join the Light.

Lord Voldemort

Sirius finished the letter with his jaw hanging open gaping like a fish. The Dark Lord made sense, and in that moment he realized he had chosen his side.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Regulus had been overjoyed when Sirius told him he would join the Dark. They were sitting together having breakfast when a flustered Professor Slughorn appeared in the doorway with Sirius's parents behind him. They stopped their and in a clear commanding voice Sirius's father said, "Here now, boy."

Sirius knew by the tone alone that his father meant him, but he refused to move. Everyone knew what his parents had done, and for the first time since Remus had told everyone he was grateful. No one would blame him for not going, and with a small smile he noticed Severus who was sitting next to him subtlety draw his wand.

"Now," his father commanded again.

Lucius stood up and in the most arrogant voice he was capable of said, "You have no power over him any more and we will not let Sirius or even Regulus come near your abusive clutches again, you filthy blood traitor. Children are precious, even the Dark Lord agrees with that. He's not very happy with you at the moment, for abusing your son like and to be willingly to hurt Regulus the same way."

Sirius's father bristled with anger, while his mother just paled. "We have the right to remove you from school if we deem fit and tutor you at home. You will come now boy, before you make it any worse on yourself," his voice growing colder and more predatory at the mention of punishment.

Sirius paled at the mention of removing him from school, could they actually force him to leave. He began searching for an escape when Regulus stood up,

"Piss of Mr. Black, you have no claim to either of us. You are no longer our father, we already have multiple offers for accommodation and we have our trust vaults to support us. We no longer need you, though you will certainly want us. We have pledged ourselves to the Dark, we are the heirs of the Black line, you are redundant now, and you have angered Him. Neither one of us will beg for your lives, so I expect to have to stand at your gravesides soon."

Professor Slughorn at that moment decided enough was enough, and with a non-verbal complicated wand movement Mr. and Mrs. Black were flung from the room and the doors slammed shut.

Sirius spent the evening constructed his second letter to the Dark Lord, hoping that the offer for a home was still valid. Christmas and Easter were fine, but they needed a home for the summer holidays. He gave it to Severus the next morning, who took it and then looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Sirius replied with a sheepish smile until finally Severus nodded and put the letter in his robe pocket.

He received the reply the next day, informing him that the offer was indeed valid and that it extended for the upcoming Christmas holidays and Easter as well. And that the Dark Lord was _hoping_ when Severus came home for Christmas Sirius and Regulus would be with him, as he wanted to meet them in person. The end of the letter stated, quite bluntly that he would be punishing his parents but they would talk together before anything further happened, as it was their right if they wanted retribution. Sirius gave the letter to Regulus who scanned in quickly before rereading it again with wide eyes. Sirius gave him a smile when he looked up, which Regulus returned.

"Will we be going there this Christmas?" Regulus asked. Sirius nodded, though unsure before Regulus's happiness at the letters contents had made the decision for him. For the first time in years, Sirius was actually looking forward to Christmas.


End file.
